{"id":169556,"date":"2025-12-24T16:15:23","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T13:15:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/169556\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"kgb-chief-reiterates-claim-that-journalist-pratasievic-worked-for-intelligence-services","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/169556\/","title":{"rendered":"KGB chief reiterates claim that journalist Pratasievi\u010d worked for intelligence services"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\n \"\"\n
\n
\n\n Raman Pratasievi\u010d \n <\/div>\n \n
\n (Pozirk's still from Minsk-Novosti video)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

December 24, Pozirk.<\/em><\/strong> Belarus\u2019 Committee for State Security (KGB) chief has reiterated the claim that former journalist Raman Pratasievi\u010d worked for the country\u2019s foreign intelligence service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes, I confirm, Pratasievi\u010d is a foreign intelligence officer. He worked in the territory of a number of states under combat-like conditions, carrying out various tasks. Of course, I can\u2019t speak about it. Probably, all details will never be disclosed, as it happens in our profession. But he made a serious contribution in a number of aspects,\u201d KGB chief Ivan Tertel told journalists from state media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that Pratasievi\u010d, who was based abroad at the time, informed the KGB of the opposition\u2019s plans during the 2020 post-election protests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pratasievi\u010d, who was arrested in May 2021 in a security operation that involved the forced landing in Minsk of a Ryanair passenger aircraft en route from Athens to Vilnius, has never denied or confirmed these claims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ex-journalist spent about two years in a pre-trial detention facility and was sentenced to eight years in prison in May 2023, but was pardoned and released one month later. He then worked as a welder at a factory for some time after his release. On one occasion, he posted pictures from his vacation in Dubai. He also posted pictures of his meetings with political prisoners Viktar Babaryka and Maryja Kale\u015bnikava, which could not have taken place without permission from the authorities. A week ago, he launched a show, “Bez Prekrytiya” (Without Cover), on the state-run STV<\/em> television channel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThanks to his work, we were aware of the dynamics of the creation of these subversive centers: who was behind them, who funded them, who \u2014 for instance, a former Polish premier \u2014 came there and what cash he promised, from which foundation, how many positions were approved for the Warsaw office, and which so-called \u2018cultural figures\u2019 are now trying, unsuccessfully, to expand them. That was his work,\u201d Tertel went on to claim, in an apparent reference to a period of Pratasievi\u010d\u2019s work for the Nexta<\/em> media organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Belarusian leader made similar allegations on October 31, but Pozirk<\/em> could not verify the claim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI won\u2019t go into detail, but Pratasievi\u010d was an employee of our intelligence service,\u201d state-run media quoted the Belarusian ruler as saying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDid we have to arrest him? The question is why the Ryanair flight did not land in Vilnius but instead turned around and flew to Minsk after receiving a call about explosives on board,\u201d \u0141uka\u0161enka continued. \u201cYou were already over Vilnius \u2014 land there. But they turned around and flew back to Minsk. I said: \u2018Well, carry out the operation \u2014 he was working undercover with these fugitives [exiled opposition]. Carry it out properly. We have to arrest him.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka added that Minsk had no need to arrest Pratasievi\u010d at that time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe came to Greece \u2014 he was sent there, reported everything we needed to the intelligence services, received his assignment and was flying back to where he worked via Vilnius,\u201d he said. \u201cWe were accused of arresting an opposition figure, but \u2026 we didn\u2019t arrest an opposition figure \u2014 yet they still imposed sanctions on us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Belarusian national airline Bie\u0142avija was banned from the European Union after the forced landing incident, which has not been properly investigated because Belarusian officials denied international experts access to key evidence and witnesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Council determined that the bomb threat against Ryanair Flight 4978 \u201cwas deliberately false and endangered its safety, and furthermore that the threat was communicated to the flight crew upon the instructions of senior government officials of Belarus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs neither a bomb nor evidence of its existence was found during pre-departure screening in Athens, Greece, and after various searches of the aircraft in Belarus and Lithuania, it is considered that the bomb threat was deliberately false. Knowingly communicating false information which endangers the safety of an aircraft in flight is an offence under Article 1 (1) (e) of the Montr\u00e9al Convention,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka later dismissed the report as a fabrication, urging ICAO to \u201clet it slide\u201d and \u201cnot bother with the details.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka claims journalist Pratasievi\u010d was a Minsk spy during arrest in 2021<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

December 24, Pozirk. Belarus\u2019 Committee for State Security (KGB) chief has reiterated the claim that former journalist Raman Pratasievi\u010d worked for the country\u2019s foreign intelligence service. \u201cYes, I confirm, Pratasievi\u010d is a foreign intelligence officer. He worked in the territory of a number of states under combat-like conditions, carrying out various tasks. Of course, I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":64574,"template":"","rubric":[16,30],"class_list":["post-169556","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rubric-politics","rubric-security"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nKGB chief reiterates claim that journalist Pratasievi\u010d worked for intelligence services | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"December 24, Pozirk. 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